The Lure
by Camilla10
Summary: Would the Cullens accept a gay vampire in their midst? We know that Heidi was a lure for the Volturi, but was she the only one? And what if one of these lures had a change of heart and rebelled? AU, Canon, post BD. the man in the photo is model Michael Gandolfi. Angelo looks like that
1. Chapter 1

**The Lure by Camilla10**

A/N This is the first multi-chaptered story I wrote, some months ago. I was still very timid so, despite the subject matter, there is no graphic slash. Still, I believe it has merits and so I am proposing it to the readers at .

Summary

Would the Cullens accept a gay vampire in their midst? We know that Heidi was a lure for the Volturi, but was she the only one? To be attracted, different people might require different lures. And what if one of these lures had a change of heart, rebelled and started dreaming about the Cullens and their different lifestyle? A chance encounter in Moscow between Edward, Bella and Angelo, an Italian vampire, brings us into the heart of the story.

Story notes

I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.

Many thanks to Audeamus Amor and ccALLIEfornia BENches for their editing.

Chapter 1. A chance encounter

Angelo

I walked without looking where I was going. My senses would help me find my way back to the hotel easily, anyway. I needed time to think if I was going to approach Sasha. Upon leaving the hotel, the receptionist told me to be careful. Moscow wasn't a safe city anymore, he deprecated. I thanked him for his concern and snorted internally. Let somebody attack me, I thought, he will be in for a surprise...

And then it happened. The street, a narrow alley on the back of a theatre, was deserted. I had not been paying attention, lost in my concerns, and suddenly three men were in front of me. One sported a knife and asked in Russian for my money. I moved quickly, took the knife and broke his arm, being very careful not to wrench it away. He screamed and the other two men retreated. Two more people arrived at my side, a man and a woman, and the gang melted into the shadows. I could see the newcomers perfectly in the poor light. They were supremely beautiful, very pale, and their scent told me that they were like me. And I knew them.

"You are Edward Cullen, aren't you?" I asked.

His amber eyes bore into mine, "You saw me in Volterra?"

_Oh cazzo_, I thought, I was forgetting he was a fucking mind reader. "Yes, and near Seattle too," I added," as you probably can see. I was with the Volturi then."

"But you aren't with them anymore," he stated. I don't know if this was due to the color of my eyes or to what he was reading in my mind.

"Please, can we talk?" I asked in a rush. I had not done anything to find him before, but now this chance encounter presented an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. "My name is Angelo. You have been very important for me and I would like to speak with you.."

"He doesn't mean us any harm, Bella," Edward said to the woman. Then, turning to me, he added, "Please, come with us, we can go to the dacha we are staying in, it will be more private." I followed them to where their car was parked and he drove out of the city, until we got to a secluded two stories wooden building.

Bella

One thing is certain. We do travel frequently, Edward and I. Because he is curious. It is a new, endearing aspect of his personality. At first, after decades of boredom and despair, he was curious of me because he could not read my mind. But afterward, when we were finally happy and together, he became curious of practically everything: of places, of people, be they human or not, of situations, even of the food he cannot eat. He is no longer satisfied by what others have experienced and, even though he can read their minds, he wants to experience things directly. So this time we were in Russia.

The official reason for the trip was the Glory to the Vinyl Week. During the era of Communism, Edward had told me, there were not many souvenirs one could buy in the Soviet Union. Caviar and vodka of course, then matrioska dolls, lacquered boxes and amber, but, for the connoisseurs, there were classical music records too. They were superb executions and cost very little. Unfortunately, when the CD era began, the Soviet music industry wasn't ready for it. Mountains of now obsolete Hi Fis were left to gather dust, but not destroyed. Now, almost two decades later, the vinyl record, suddenly in fashion again, was being celebrated. The best concerts had been transferred onto CDs, but visitors could also buy the old vinyl pieces or ask that their music of choice be transferred onto their iPods. Throughout the week a lot of musical performances and concerts were scheduled. In fact, Edward and I were returning from having seen Stravinsky's Rite of Spring when we met Angelo.

Being in Russia for the first time, we wanted to see some of the country too. Therefore we had decided to rent this luxury dacha in the woods. We planned to go for a few days to St Petersburg, then we expected Alice and Jasper to join us in and see more of Russia together. Alice also wanted to go shopping. The new Russia was a fashion designer heaven. All the best names among European stylists could be found in Moscow's boutiques, if you could afford the prices. While we were travelling, Renesmee was living with Rosalie and Emmett for a few weeks, a thing that made my sister very happy, despite the fact that she had to put up with Jacob.

Now we had had this unplanned encounter with a former member of the Volturi coven. I could understand why Edward was curious of what he had to tell us.

Vampires don't really need to sit, but it makes us more relaxed if we do, so we sat down in the dacha living room and invited him to do the same. Angelo was very, very beautiful. Tall and slim with wide shoulders, he had raven black hair falling on a gorgeous face on which, under long black lashes, the golden eyes sparkled like jewels. His skin was olive toned, pale, but darker than ours. Certainly Dolce & Gabbana would give an arm each to have him modeling their outfits.

"Angelo," Edward said, "I know that mind reading is very rude and often unnecessary. So I am asking Bella to shield your mind from me. You can speak freely, telling us only what you want to tell us."

I complied immediately. This was an exercise that Edward and I had perfected and now made use of often, to give privacy and respect to some of the people we conversed with.

"Thank you," said Angelo. "Now I will tell you briefly who I am. It is not a pretty story… Well, anyway, as you know I was in the Volturi service, but I was no warrior. I was… one of their lures."

It figured. Not everybody was going to be attracted to Volterra and death by Heidi. Different people had different tastes. As for vampires' stories not being pretty, it was an understatement. I remember Rosalie saying the same to me, one momentous night in Forks, as she told me how she had became immortal. Mine was probably the only story that deviated from the norm.

"Yes," Angelo continued, "I am gay. I was born as Angelo Guidi in a small town of central Italy at the end of the '40s. I had a normal infancy in a conventional low middle-class family. Then I met my first lover. He was the parish priest."

Chapter end note

The story is short and fast paced. I hope you will let me know what you think

'Dacha' is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes located in the "exurbs" of Russian cities. In some cases it is occupied part of the year by its owner or rented out as a vacation retreat (Wikipedia).


	2. Chapter 2 Angelo's story

**The Lure by Camilla**

Chapter 2 - Angelo's story

Bella

"No, this is not a sordid story of pedophilia, don't worry." Angelo went on, "If any, it was I who seduced Don Mario. I was almost sixteen, and he was still quite young. He was a fantastic man, good, understanding, handsome. My schoolmates and I played soccer in the parish grounds and he coached us. I fell in love with him, made my awkward advances and got the prize. For a while we were very happy, despite his strong sense of guilt, but eventually we were discovered.

The Church is very careful of scandals. Don Mario was sent away, but not in shame. In fact, he got a promotion. In Latin they say _promoveatur ut amoveatur_, which means that you are promoted so as to better remove you. He disappeared from my life and I was left to face the music.

Have you any idea of what it meant to be known as _un frocio_, a faggot, in a small provincial town so many years ago? The whispered words at my back, the direct sneers in my face, the catcalls, the sick jokes recited in a loud voice while I was passing by. Then a particular gang in my school widened their hate range, targeting my parents. They could not stand it. Nothing in their upbringing and culture had prepared them for this. They were ashamed. 'It would have been better if you were dead,' my father told me, while my mother cried."

Angelo's voice trembled. For a while he was silent.

"So I left home," he continued, "I was still under age, but my parents did nothing to find me, nor did they alert the police. I went first to Rome and then to Milan. I was good looking even as a human, and I had no money, so I took the easy road: I became a prostitute. But no dirty toilets for my encounters, oh no. I was attractive, very attractive, so I could pick and choose my clients and name my price. Due to this I lived comfortably, if wildly. However, I had been noticed and my potential assessed. One night I followed a pale client to his country house. He was an emissary of the Volturi and he changed me.

You both know how the experience is, so I'll not dwell on it. After my newborn period I was brought to Volterra and Caius explained what they wanted from me. Mind you, I wasn't particularly sorry for the change, since my human life had not been pleasant. Now I was beautiful like the angel my name signified, I was strong and eternal. And I could have my revenge. I returned to my hometown, giving a wide berth to my parents' house, and looked for the members of the school gang that had tormented me. No one survived.

Then my training started. I studied languages, since I would need to travel to many countries to do my job. Finally, one day I was told to go and exert my talent, armed with contact lenses. If I had been attractive before, now I was impossible to resist. I did not only seduce men easily, including some that did not think that they were gay, but I affected women too. This was particularly true in the case of couples turned on by threesomes.

At the beginning I found that I could control my strength, but not my blood lust. I was incubus or succubus as circumstances dictated, but none of my lovers left my bed alive. I became adept at disposing of bodies unobtrusively. Of course that was not what was expected of me, so I gradually learned to keep my thirst in check. After a night of hot sex I would tell my preys that I had to go back to my job in a museum of Volterra. However, they could come and visit me there, but secretly, because in the Museum they didn't know of my sexual preferences. Almost all came, so irresistible I was. I gave directions to a supposed side entrance of the museum and once they got in, Alec took over, keeping them in a blank void until we had enough specimens collected and the feast could start.

Many years passed in this way. The problem with controlling the thirst, however, is that one has time to think, and I liked less and less what I was doing. Since I didn't kill my preys immediately, I got to know them, to see them as people. And I was luring them to their death. Plus, I had loved Mario, but after I lost him I had not loved anymore. The void in my existence began hurting me. The sex part was often great – OK - but not enough to fill me.

While I was still struggling with those thoughts, an unexpected visitor arrived in Volterra.

It was you, Edward, asking to be destroyed. You certainly did not notice me, hidden in the shadows of the thrones' hall, but I did notice you and I was fascinated, and not only by your beauty. Seeking death because the human girl you loved had died, that was unheard of. Learning from Demetri that, after Aro had denied your request, you had tried to provoke our reaction in order to be punished, was amazing. Then it came out that the human girl was alive, and that your adopted sister - sister! - had come to Italy with her to try and save you. This was something incredible. Plus, the human girl had the power to resist Aro and Jane talents, your sister saw the future and you read minds. You spoke of your coven as of your family - family! - and the members of that family had amber eyes because they did not kill human beings but only animals. All the events of that fateful day burned themselves in my mind. Another world was possible, and my perception of reality turned upside down.

We spoke of you for months afterwards, speculating on what was going to happen. When Jane came back from Seattle we learned that the Cullen coven was so powerful that they had destroyed an army of 20-odd newborns and two mature vampires. It started to look frightening and I was not surprised to hear that Aro was planning to come and swipe you out. After the Alaskan female, Irina, came and gave us a pretext, the expedition was decided. I was not happy at all with the decision, but I was under orders, so I had to go with the others.

When our two groups faced each other in the clearing I felt a strong compulsion to switch sides; I would have died in the attempt, probably, and I had not the gut to do it. In any case, as imposing as our army looked, things were not going so well on our side, despite Aro's play-acting.

Shitless we all are by definition, but many of us were very, very scared. First of all, the wolves. Enormous brutes at your command, with fangs that could tear through our bodies. Then there was your wife, now a powerful vampire and totally self possessed, despite being a newborn, capable of nullifying Jane and Alec's powers by shielding everyone in your group. For me it was not so much fear, it was longing… it was so clear that you were lovers and friends, that nobody was under orders and yet you were prepared to die for each other. And you, Edward, had even a real family now, not an immortal child but a hybrid little girl, a beautiful _bambina_.

Well, your sister arrived and there was no battle. Stalemate!

In the months that followed I daydreamed of leaving Volterra and coming to Forks, asking to be taken in. But I was alone, and you were paired, and very traditionally, at that. Would you have accepted a gay vampire in your midst?"

Chapter endnote

What will Edward answer to this?


	3. Chapter 3 Love at first sight

**The Lure by Camilla**

Chapter 3 – Love at first sight

Bella 

The question was in earnest and deserved a sincere answer. I looked at Edward, wondering how he would reply.

"We might have surprised you," he answered, "yes indeed, we are very, hum, traditional in our tastes. However, we know the meaning of being different, the pain of it. So, I don't know. But, believe me, the real problem would have been that you were alone. Before I met Bella I was the odd man out in my family, and it was no party. Sometimes it was a nightmare."

"It is now a theoretical question, anyway," Angelo said, "because there have been…developments." He resumed his story.

"Finally, I decided that I had to leave the Volturi. I hated my job now. It took some time for me to find the courage to speak, but it went better than I expected. Probably because, in order to find my preys easily, I went country by country, to places where they were most likely to be found. And of course, even in this liberated era, the number of such places was limited. My beauty was my weapon, but it also made me recognizable, and that was dangerous. I could become a liability, so my request was accepted graciously. I didn't leave just with the designer clothes I had on my back, mind. The Volturi are stinking rich and very generous with their former dependents, when they allow them to leave. A destitute vampire can behave irrationally and do things that could lead to exposure. So there was quite a lot of money for me in an anonymous Swiss account.

I had a short term plan to follow immediately. I bought a small and rough _baita, _an isolated hut in the Alps that is, and took the first step of my new life. I wanted to change my diet. I learned to hunt animals and it was not too bad. Other than that, I did nothing. I had just a few books and a radio and I went out mostly at night. It was my penance time. I recalled my countless victims' faces and I asked them to forgive me. I often cried, at least the dry sobs we produce. I don't know if I was forgiven, but I have not forgiven myself.

Winter and snow came, and I was practically hibernating. I didn't need to hunt frequently, so I just lay in my hut, berating myself for the monster I was. Finally, one morning in February, I looked in the small mirror I had and my eyes had changed color. The first step was done.

I needed to test myself, though, and see if I still could be among humans without problems, or if the call of their blood would undermine my will to abstain. In Venice, less than two hundred kilometers from my hut, it was the time of_ Carnevale_, a week before Lent. I had been there in the past; the costumes, the excitement, the anonymity of the Venice Carnival made a good fishing hole.

The test went well, I could walk among mortals and control myself completely. But other urges started to surface, after a long spell of total chastity. I was still thinking of what to do about it when I saw **him**, and the world stopped.

If you have been in Venice you know how easily one can get lost. Many streets have no recognizable names, house numbers are allotted according to the _sestriere_, neighborhood that is, and it is a veritable maze. If you have not the vampire sense of orientation you go in circles, you think that you are going in the right direction and then you find only water and no bridge. This was what had happened to Sasha. He was totally lost, and he spoke only Russian.

"I spoke Russian too, of course, and I was ready, more than ready, to help. He was in Venice with a group of colleagues to enjoy the Carnival, but had been separated from them after dinner, and could not find his hotel. We walked together, found the hotel, but continued walking and speaking until we ended up in my hotel and in my bed.

"It was a sort of miracle. I think he was still undecided about his sexual orientation and I am vain enough to think that I was the deciding factor. It was his first experience of this kind, anyway. For me, it was heaven. I was in love, for the second time in my existence, the first as a vampire. Of course I did not tell him what I was. How could I? I gave him the usual explanation I used when I was a lure. My skin was so pale and cold due to a rare form of non malignant anemia. I had perfected the medical blah blah and people accepted it. It was even an additional turn on."

"_Oh yes, it was, it was,"_ I said to myself silently, while Angelo went on.

"The morning after, with me waiting around the hotel corner, he found his worried colleagues and told them that he had met… a girl and would see them at the airport in four days.

"So we had only three full days left. We went back to my hotel and remained there. I ordered food trays to be brought up for Sasha and I even ate something. No hassle, it was a thing I had had to do often when I was fishing for the Volturi, in order to look human. I regurgitated in the suite toilet, where I had to go from time to time anyway, to keep up the charade. We made love, we spoke, we made love again and again and then I faked sleep and he slept in my arms, wrapped up in a blanket so that I did not freeze him…"

Edward and I looked at each other in wonder, this was not new for us.

"I faked sleep, "Angelo continued," and I was in agony. This divine young man in my arms was human and there was no possible future for us. I debated with myself if I should tell him the truth, but I could not bear the idea of seeing revulsion in his eyes. And in any case, even if I did, then what? I would only put him in danger. No, it was better that our story ended, I would, hopefully, remain a fond and not shameful memory for him while I, I… my bleak future was impossible to contemplate. He asked me to come and visit him in Moscow, but I had to be vague about it, and it hurt me so. The last day arrived, I went with him to the Marco Polo airport and disappeared before his friends saw me.

"I returned to the Alps, but I could not find peace there. Almost eight months passed and suddenly it was too much. I bought a plane ticket and I came here. I still don't know if I will meet Sasha or not. I want to see him from afar and try to understand if he is happy, adjusted, if he still remembers me. I really don't know what to do, Edward."

He covered his face with his hands and we stood speechless for a while. I was touched, and so was Edward. His story mirrored ours and I did not think it was relevant that they were both males. About Sasha being human, well, we could tell him something about that, if he was willing to listen. It was obvious that he had wanted to speak with Edward because he thought that his experience could give him guidance, and hope. But we had to think carefully of what we would say that could help him in his difficult situation.

"I need to hunt before I see Sasha, anyway," he said, "where do you go for it?"

We explained that we had chosen this dacha because it was not far from a natural park and that we could go together, if he wanted to come with us. So we made a date for the following night, exchanged cell-phone numbers and asked if he wanted a lift to the city center, but he said that it was only a few miles and he would enjoy the run.

I had lowered my shield at the end of the conversation, and I saw Edward wince, while he was closing the door."He loves his Sasha to a point of distraction," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "However, I wish his memories were not so graphic…" He took me in his arms." My love, let's create new memories for us, more to my taste."

Endnotes

So, Edward's answer has been an honest one. I believe that his living with Bella is making him much less prudish than in the past, and more open minded. We will see…

And I would love to see your reviews.


	4. Chapter 4 Soul mate

**The L****ure by Camilla10**

Chapter 4 – Soul mate

Bella

The day after, Edward and I had a lot to discuss. We both decided that we liked Angelo very much. He had told us his grim story tersely, with a minimum of pathos and often with dry humor. Moreover, all by himself, he had became a 'vegetarian', no mean feat. When he had spoken of what he had called his 'year of penance' it was clear that he had a strong ethical streak. All in all, a good person. Obviously he needed some help and we wanted to help him, but we had to understand how.

In the evening we met and went hunting together. Our dacha was on the outskirts of Losiny Ostrov National Park, in the North East of Moscow. As big game goes, there was not much to choose from, but at least its popular name, Moose Park, was not a lie. Being so near the city, there were many people around the park during the day, but at night, going deep inside, it was deserted.

Angelo was graceful and very clean in his eating habits, like Edward was and I had learned to be.

Sated, we sat together on a fallen tree.

"If you ever come to the Alps," said the Italian vampire, "I'll make you try the _stambecco_, a big mountain goat. It is exhilarating, because they jump very high and reach places where there is no extra foothold for you to stand on. So you have to jump with them and grab one while you are airborne, falling back into the place you sprang from. At the beginning I missed more than I scored, then I learned. I am very partial to them. In my part of Italy lamb and baby goat are a favorite food. And now I like their species' blood. Another animal easy to find in the Alps, and elsewhere in my country, is the wild boar. They are multiplying, so to hunt them is doing a favor to farmers."

The conversation drifted from hunting to his other concerns. He had not resolved anything about Sasha and hoped we could tell him what to do He thought that he had found in Sasha his soul mate, despite the short time they had had together and the fact that he was human.

"In Italian we would say _anima gemella_," he mused, "twin soul, that is, but maybe the expression in English is better …"

"Angelo," Edward said forcefully," no matter the language you chose, if he is really your soul mate and loves you as you love him, there is no way out, he will have to become immortal as you are. In denying this I nearly caused not only Bella's death, but my own, and made us utterly miserable, until she convinced me it was the only course. But Sasha needs to know the truth first, accept it and make his choice. So now you have either to disappear, grieve and try to forget - and you have already tried this to no avail -or you have to talk to him."

"But he is only twenty-four, is good, innocent, how could I condemn him, ask him to become a monster…"

"Crap," I exploded, "this is exactly the crap I got from Edward when I was human, I don't want to hear it again. Angelo please, go find Sasha and speak with him!"

He was still undecided, torn, when he had an idea.

"Edward, you could really help me to understand what to do. If you could read his mind before I try to see him, I could have enough information to make the right choice. We were together for only four days, wonderful as they were, and now eight months have passed. Maybe he has forgotten me, has moved on, does not need me. I will then go away without disturbing him. Otherwise, I'll show myself."

Edward was not overenthusiastic about this plan, but it made sense and he wanted to help Angelo. So they decided that he would go to the small printing company where Sasha worked and wait for him until the end of office hours. Then he was to follow Sasha while he went home, and read his thoughts. Accordingly, the day after we went in town. I sat with Angelo in a tearoom and Edward went to the office to wait for the young Russian. From Angelo's mind he knew already whom to look for. Angelo was a total wreck, so nervous that he bore a hole on the tabletop where our teas stood untouched and I had to put my purse over it. After an hour Edward came back.

"Angelo, please, go call Sasha, tell him that you are in Moscow and that you love him. While I was following him he was thinking only of you, he is like a lovesick puppy, he wonders if he will ever see you again. It is pathetic, really."

Angelo jumped up, he was reborn. We said a quick good bye, he promised to call us in the following days and ran out of the tearoom, barely keeping a human pace.

Edward told me that, at the beginning, Sasha's thoughts had revolved vaguely on some political meeting, it was not clear. But, when they took the underground Sasha had noticed him fleetingly and had thought that his looks reminded him of Angelo somehow, and then the floodgates had opened.

"Well, love is love, whatever form it takes," said my over centenarian husband, who seemed not to have pruderies or prejudices left. I was mightily proud of him.

We decided to wait for Alice and Jasper before visiting St. Petersburg. The Cullens had travelled to many places but never to Russia, except Carlisle, who had been there when Catherine the Great reigned. That was a story I hoped he would tell me, someday. The rest of the family, however, had lived in the 20th century, and they had considered it unwise to travel in a police State, where foreigners were carefully scrutinized and tourism was allowed only if supervised. Now things were different. The arrival of our siblings was expected very soon and I braced myself for the rounds of shopping that Alice was sure to inflict upon me.

After a couple of days Angelo called. He had contacted Sasha, met him and it was Venice all over again. Sasha loved him passionately, he was his soul mate.

"Now, if you agree, I would like to introduce my American friends to him." He said. We agreed to meet them in a restaurant during Sasha's lunch break.

Chapter endnote

Yes, sorry, I know, short chapter. It was a sort of passage. Please bear with me: in Chapter 5 we will go into politics and then things will become **very **dramatic. What is your opinion, so far?


	5. Chapter 5 Gay Pride

**The Lure by Camilla****10**

Chapter 5 – Gay Pride

Bella

Sasha was not beautiful like Angelo. He was an average young man, with a pleasant face, a shock of sandy hair and big blue eyes lost in wonder.

We had excused ourselves from ordering a meal, saying that we had already eaten, but Angelo was spooning borsch in his mouth like he enjoyed it. I was awed by the length he was prepared to go with his charade, since obviously he had not told his lover the truth yet. Using him as an interpreter, out of courtesy for me, Sasha timidly proposed to show us interesting places in Moscow in the following days. We agreed and then he had to go back to his office.

We remained in the restaurant with Angelo. He told us that Sasha had promised him that, should Angelo disappear again from his life, he would kill himself, as he could not endure the pain of losing him a second time. "But how can I stay with him if he remains human?" He agonized, "how can I tell him the truth? He will be repelled!."

In addition, there was something else that worried him. Back to Moscow and desperate because Angelo had not called, and his cell phone appeared to be disconnected, Sasha had none the less been very positive about his newfound sexual orientation. He did not want to find another lover, though, what interested him was the situation of homosexuals in his country.

It was not good, Angelo told us. Homosexuality had been a crime in the Soviet Union and the law article sanctioning it had been cancelled only in 1993. Some reactionary Parliamentarians were trying to reintroduce it, however, and there were many forms of persecution still going on. Gay organizations had to stay underground, public advocacy for things like legalized unions of persons of the same sex was forbidden, while countless cases of harassment and violence went unpunished. In 2007 the Muscovite gay circles had organized a Gay Pride parade. The Moscow's Mayor had vetoed it and, since the organizers had persisted, the demonstration had been violently dissolved. Participants had been beaten, foreign supporters, with members of the European Parliament among them, had been forcibly removed and even arrested by the police. Now another Gay Pride rally was scheduled for the following Saturday, and the circle Sasha had joined was among the organizers.

"It is too dangerous," said Angelo, "again the parade is not authorized, and it will surely end in violence like the last time. Apart from the police, there are homophobic religious fanatics that will grab the opportunity to go fag hunting, knowing that the authorities will do nothing to stop them. I don't want Sasha be involved in the Gay Pride, I asked him not to go, and he promised, but I am worried…"

I was fuming, internally. What was it that made vampires so over-protective of their human lovers? Control freaks, really. I had had to sneak away from Edward to see my werewolf best friend. But at least, in my case, Edward had also been jealous, while here what Sasha wanted to do was political. He was a Russian citizen, he cared for civil rights and democracy in his country and I believed he was entitled to it.

We left Angelo, insisting that he had to find the courage to speak with Sasha, and went to the airport. We met Alice and Jasper and drove them to the dacha. Alice, true to form, had brought small presents for us, American magazines not easy to find in Moscow, a film just released that could be watched on our Mac big screen laptop. But she had something special for Edward that she tried to palm to him unobtrusively.

"A syringe, Alice, what I am supposed to do with it?" Edward asked, puzzled. "Our skin breaks needles."

"You might not need it, but somebody else might. Maybe, I am not sure yet. Just keep it." Edward frowned, looking at her and then scowling, because she was probably deflecting him, reciting in her mind Russian poetry, or some such.

For a couple of days we did not hear from Angelo. We did the classic tourist rounds with our siblings. I submitted to a shopping spree with Alice and then we started to organize our trip to St. Petersburg. Edward wanted to go by night train, something rather unusual for us. Apparently, in the Soviet Union days, taking the night train was the only way the inhabitants of the two cities had to make love. Outside marriage, that is. Due to housing problems and forced cohabitation, lovers could not find any place to be private, unless they took the two berths compartment and tipped well the train attendant. Now the housing situation had improved, and locals were allowed to book rooms in a hotel. However, the night train still existed.

"Where is my prudish brother and what have you done with him? This improper proposal cannot be coming from Edward!" Alice exclaimed on hearing the night train idea and predicting what would happen if we made that choice. The compartment furniture might not stand up to the task, she informed us. With a poker face my husband said that he only wanted to re-try train travelling after so many years, nothing else. We had not yet decided how to travel and were still joking about Edward's naughty whim, when Saturday arrived.

"Let's hang near the house today," Alice said, "it is better." But she refused to tell us why, and proceeded to recite War and Peace in her mind, much to Edward's frustration. However, warnings from Alice are meant to be taken seriously, so we remained in the dacha and played bridge. I paired with Alice and Jasper with Edward. In this way at least the cheating was evenly divided.

Hours passed. The morning had been sunny, giving us an additional reason to stay put, but in the afternoon the weather started to change.

It was not yet evening when both Edward and Alice suddenly got up and ran to open the door.

Angelo was there, with Sasha in his arms, bleeding and limp like a broken doll. Jasper stopped breathing. Alice, Edward and I were aghast, but able to resist the call of his blood.

"Quick, let's put him on a bed, follow me," Edward said, and led Angelo to our spare room. "What happened?"

"He lied to me," Angelo cried, "he told me there was a problem in his office and this Saturday he had to work. But he did not answer my calls and when I went to his office, it was closed. I was sure then that he had gone to the Gay Pride. So I ran to the area were the parade was supposed to be held, but the police had already intervened and the participants had scattered. Sasha was nowhere to be found. I tried to look for him, as I have some tracking capacity and Demetri trained me, when he had nothing better to do.

Eventually, I did find him in a back alley, but I was almost too late. There were four individuals on him. They had used their fists, their boots and an iron rod. After breaking his jaw and most of his bones, they wanted to shove the rod into his..._bastardi!" _He hissed_. _

"At least, I was in time to prevent that but, Edward, I am afraid he is going to die. I know I should not have moved him, I should have called an ambulance, but I could not take him to a hospital. I think his spine is broken, and even if they save his life, what fucking life would it be? He is only twenty four, _per Dio!" _He sobbed_._

"What about the attackers?" Edward asked. "All dead," Angelo answered grimly, "I concealed the bodies into an empty truck."

I imagined the four thugs bent on their hideous task, unaware of the avenging angel descending on them, terrible in his wrath. I felt no pity, I was glad they were dead.

In the meanwhile Edward with gentle touches had removed most of Sasha's garments and was assessing his conditions. "Angelo, I think you are right," he said, "his spine is broken. He is conscious, though, I see his mind. Sometimes he drifts ...he is not feeling much pain, but he could be a goner, fast."

"I see what you want me to do," he continued, "and you are right... but, if possible, we'll let Sasha decide, and then you will do it, it will be much better if you are the one."

Chapter endnotes

The Moscow Gay Pride Parade of this story is imaginary, but there are videos of the 2007 one, violently dissolved by the police.

Alice was rather vague in her predictions because she did not know Angelo and Sasha. What she had seen was Edward with a syringe in his hands, but she didn't know why.

Please, review.


	6. Chapter 6 Transformation

**The Lure by Camilla**

Chapter 6 - Transformation

Angelo 

So it was about to happen, the thing that I had not allowed myself to hope for or even dream. If Sasha agreed, that is. And if I managed not to kill him. I was very confused by my conflicting emotions: damning Sasha to my fate, having him with me forever.

Edward handed me a syringe. "Take out the needle, let the venom pool in your mouth and fill it. It will speed up the process." My mouth was dry, but I concentrated on this task and in a few minutes I was able to do it.

"Wait now," Edward said, he has the right to choose. I need to speak with him." He knelt near the bed and lowered his head to Sasha's battered face. He spoke in Russian.

"Sasha, listen to me. Don't strain yourself to answer, I can read your mind." Sasha's eyes opened wide.

"I think your spine is broken. For this reason you are not in pain, or not too much, at least. We can still take you to a hospital, but I am afraid you will not walk again. You might survive, but you will be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. This is why Angelo has brought you to my house, because there is another possibility."

He listened awhile and then he spoke again. "Yes, trust me, there is. We can heal you. You will die as a human, but will awaken as a new being. Strong, powerful and eternal. You will be a vampire, like myself, my family, and Angelo. He meant to tell you his secret, but he could not find the courage to do it. And, in the depths of your heart you did know that Angelo was different from other people, didn't you? Yes, I saw it. Now time is short, you might even die. You must tell me if you want him to change you, because it will not be easy and there is no going back.

Fine, I'll explain," Edward continued, "you have the right to know. In order to change you Angelo will have to bite you. For about three days you will suffer unspeakably, there is no way to avoid it. Once we thought that morphine could help, but it doesn't do much, and we don't have it, anyway. When you rise from this bed you'll be very different. You will not be able to sleep or eat anymore, and you will feel a terrible thirst. You will crave blood, human blood, and you will try to kill people."

Sasha eyes opened wide again and filled with tears. "Since you will be out of control," Edward went on, "we will restrain you at first, but then you will have another choice to make. A vampire can also sustain himself by drinking the blood of animals. It is what my family and Angelo are doing. It will not satisfy you completely, but at least you will exist without feeling guilty. Angelo here loves you very much, and he was afraid of telling you what he is and of proposing that you became like him. He feared that you would have been revolted. Now the circumstances have changed and you can stay with him forever, if you wish it, but this is also a choice you must make freely."

There was silence for a while, while Edward was reading Sasha mind. "All right then, so be it."

Bella

"Angelo, give me the syringe," Edward said in English.

I had been unable to understand what Edward had been telling Sasha, but I figured it out even if I didn't speak Russian. I was amazed by how much Edward resembled Carlisle in that moment. Gentle, self-possessed, assured.

"Sasha, close your eyes," he said in Russian, adding in English:"I will now inject the venom into his heart. If we are lucky, it will mean less hours of pain. Here… sorry… I am done. He has passed out, good. Angelo, now it is your turn, you have to bite him. Go for the throat first and then bite his wrists and ankles."

"What if I am unable to stop?" Angelo's voice trembled.

"You will be able to stop, you are capable of restraint much more than me, I think. In any case I am here to stop you, if necessary."

From the other side of the room I watched, enthralled. I had never seen the first step of a transformation before. When Edward had bitten me I was unconscious and when James did it I was so full of pain everywhere that I had not realized it, until I felt the burning.

Angelo kissed Sasha's lips lightly, then went for his neck. He murmured something in Italian and his teeth flashed. I saw his throat do a gulping movement once, twice, thrice….. venom pooled in my mouth and I swallowed, hard.

"Enough!" Edward ordered, hovering upon Angelo, "You don't want to kill him and you have to leave your venom inside. Now seal the wound." Angelo complied and raised his head, eyes slightly unfocused. You have to bite his wrists and ankles," Edward added. "Do you have the strength to continue?"

"_Si, si_, I am fine now." Angelo murmured, bringing one of Sasha's wrists to his mouth. He was concentrating on completing the process and did it quickly.

I wondered if it was thirst that has caused him to be momentarily overwhelmed, or the desire to taste his lover's blood, just this once, for the first and last time in eternity.

For a while nothing happened and then Sasha started screaming, a rasping sound muted somehow, due to the broken jaw. Angelo took his lover in his arms, laying near him on the bed. He spoke to him in Russian, a continuous stream of words that I knew helped a little, as did the contact with his cold body.

"Alright, now there is only to wait, but Jasper and I have work to do tonight," Edward said. "Angelo, I'll take Sasha's jacket, his shoes and his flat's keys. I hope nobody has started looking for him yet. Yes, I know where his bed sitter is and I can see where he was attacked." He went downstairs, "Jazz, let's go."

"All will be well now, we only have to wait. "Alice said to me. Come, let's go downstairs, it is better to leave them alone."

Yes, alone as Edward had been with me while I burned, embracing my still form, torn between hope and despair. There were so many similarities between our stories that I felt passionately drawn to Angelo and Sasha, I wanted them to be happy now, the vampire and his human lover.

It was dawn when Edward and Jasper returned. They told us that they had disposed of the four bodies where they wouldn't be found and had left Sasha's bloodied jacket and one of his shoes on the pavement, together with the iron rod. In a pocket of the jacket they had left Sasha's underground pass card, with his name on it, and some Gay Pride leaflets. Hopefully the police would think that one of the fucking fags had got what he deserved and that his attackers had concealed the body and gone underground until the waters calmed. In the absence of a body, the investigation was hardly going to be a priority, in any case.

Then they had gone to Sasha's flat and taken assorted things that could be useful. Clothes, documents, personal mementoes, as far as they could tell, because he would never be able to return. Particularly important was his passport, that would certainly be needed. Later that morning Angelo had to go quickly to his hotel, collect his belongings and check out. He was not happy at all with this plan, but we told him that there were not going to be changes for another day at least, and Edward would stay with Sasha, while Jasper drove him into town. Fortunately the sky was overcast, so they could go immediately and be back soon.

In the evening Angelo washed and dressed Sasha with clean clothes. His bruises were fading. At a certain point he must have realized, like we all did sooner or later, that screaming did not help, so now he was still, suffering in silence and waiting for the fire to consume itself. Angelo went on speaking to him, telling him of the beastly life he had led, of his need for atonement, and that to love and to be loved made him hope that maybe his repentance could be accepted, if there was a God. This I was told by Edward, who, like me, was very moved by what was happening.

Alice and I went hunting and returned.

All in all, it took two days and a half. When the heartbeat finally stopped, Edward and Jasper went upstairs to meet the new vampire and make sure that he would not be running amok. He did not, apparently, and was already trying to keep himself in check. To know in advance what was happening to you, and to have consented to it, evidently helped not to lose it. They came downstairs. Sasha had not been particularly beautiful when he was human, but simply a pleasant young man. Now he was handsome, despite the red eyes. His face was well defined, his mouth perfect, his muscles toned and his sandy hair had golden tones. Angelo was looking at him with utter adoration.

Chapter endnote

If you post a review you will make me very happy.


	7. Chapter 7 Flight and Epilogue

**The Lure by Camilla**

Chapter 7- Flying out and Epilogue

Chapter notes

The story of my _bel vampiro italiano_ ends with this chapter. I have nothing more to post until I am advanced enough with the sequel to The Parachutist. I am writing, but I am still unsure about the final part of the plot. Until then I have to stall. Love to everybody.

You know what they say about characters taking over? The moment Angelo stopped being anguished he started saying riddles and cracking jokes…There was no restraining him. He is a very pleasant and easy person, actually. _Simpatico!_

Bella 

The other three males took Sasha hunting. I tried to play chess with Alice on her portable set, a futile exercise. When not anticipating the moves I would do, she occasionally monitored the hunters, but all was well, apparently.

The first to come back was Jasper. He looked very nervous, though.

"Jasper, what happened?" Alice asked . His discomfort was evident and we could feel it.

"It was fine, Sasha took immediately to hunting, and he is quite calm now. They will be here soon, Edward is preceding them."

"Very well, but then what is irking you?" We chorused.

"Well, you know how it is, after the hunt blood lust sometimes gives place to just..lust. It happens to us, when we hunt in pairs, it happened to them. It is instinctual, normal," he said, but did not look very happy.

Alice giggled, "Jazz, my poor empath, were you hit by a wandering desire going in a surprising new direction? What do you want to do about it? OK, come with me, let's try something new." And they quickly retreated to their room.

Edward came back, followed a little later by Angelo and Sasha. Sasha's clothes were a mess and Angelo's too, despite him being a neat eater. "First hunt, you know," he said sheepishly."Let's go change." And to the spare room they went, certainly for round two.

I looked at Edward and a fit of laughter overcame us.

"No secrets, no privacy, this is the life of vampires!" we chanted. And we also went to our room. We put some loud music on and I used my shield to keep the others' minds out. We also did experiment something new that night and I wondered if Jasper and Alice had done the same, but I did not ask.

Some days passed and it was clear that any further tourism project would have to be scrapped. If you create a new vampire, you have to take responsibly for him. We had to extract Sasha from Russia and bring him to some haven where he could safely finish his newborn period. Alaska would be the perfect place, and our 'cousins' would take Angelo and Sasha in, but how to go there with a continent and an ocean in between? At the same time we had to prevent Sasha having close contacts with humans, lest he jumped them. This made any collective transport unsafe.

"You know," said Angelo, while we were discussing options," this reminds me of the old riddle we have in Italy, about a man who had to cross the river in a small boat. He had a sack of cabbages, a wolf and a goat to transport, but the boat could only carry two items. One was him, who had to row. Now, if he transported the wolf first, the goat would eat the cabbages. If he transported the cabbages, the wolf would eat the goat while he was crossing. He could transport the goat first, but then on the second trip he would have to take either the wolf or the cabbages and leave what he had transported on the other side with the goat, while he rowed back for the third item, so one or the other would be eaten… a logistics nightmare!

In any case, I think that my hut in the Alps is safe enough. Winter is coming, it is not a ski area and there will not be tourists around. Even in summer I hardly saw anybody, and if I did it was from a distance. I can make the _baita _more comfortable and we could stay there for a long time."

The way Sasha behaved made him feel confident to be able to manage him alone. It was possible. After all, Carlisle had also managed newborn Edward alone, with no accidents.

"Yes, we can try to get him to Italy," Edward said. "I can rent a small plane and fly it, so Sasha will not be in contact with humans." Every time I realized how rich my family was and how many things Edward was capable of doing I was amazed. Angelo at first would not hear of it, but Edward convinced him to accept, since it was the best course. A car trip crossing so many countries and facing so many unpredictable accidents was not an option.

I was a little sorry that the Alaska plan was unfeasible, because I had loved the idea of Tania having two beautiful male houseguests she could do nothing with. Well, thinking of Tania always draws out my mean streak.

Soon we started to implement the plan. Sasha already had a visa for Italy stamped on his passport, due to his trip to Venice, but it had expired at the end of February. However, a '2' could became a '12' quite easily and extend the visa to the end of the year. Alice, a very good forger, found the right ink and did it.

Edward located an aircraft leasing company in Frankfurt where he could rent an Executive jet. Then he called Carlisle, asking him to send by courier his flying license directly to Frankfurt, where he would pick it up. He would go to Germany with a commercial plane, submit his flight plan, pay for the rental, come back to Moscow, collect us and fly to a minor airport in Northern Italy.

Then we would bring Angelo and Sasha to the hut in the Alps, take the rented jet back to Frankfurt and finally fly home.

The difficult moments would be when we boarded the plane in Moscow and left it on arrival in Italy. However, the airports for private jets are small, there are not many people around and Edward would deal with officials, presenting all our documents together.

A few days later the plan was implemented, and it worked. When Edward landed in Moscow we were waiting for him near the airport. Sasha, fed to the brim by repeated hunting, eyes covered by dark glasses, was told not to breathe, feign a severe cold and keep a handkerchief to his nose. Alice had impregnated it with a strong perfume, in case he forgot not to breath. Angelo and Jasper were tight at his sides, keeping him in check."Like two _carabinieri," _Angelo hadlaughed, in reference to the Italian military policemen, who are the butt of many jokes and are supposed to do everything in pairs.

A few hours later, we passed with no trouble through the customs of the small Italian airport we had landed in. It was done! The SUV we had rented online was waiting for us outside of the airport. No road reached the hut, not even a real trail, so eventually we got there on foot. Then Angelo went with Alice to a nearby town to buy some necessities, mainly things to help them pass the time. He intended to teach languages to Sasha, starting with Italian and English, and, moreover, this was going to be like a honeymoon for them.

It was time to say goodbye. After the necessary time had passed and Sasha could safely board a regular plane, they promised to come and visit us in America. We would procure and send them all the papers they would need. J. Jenks, now a little older, but always a dependable forger, was going to get another big commission from the Cullens.

We left them in front of the hut, the sun was setting and they were looking at each other, reciprocally admiring their sparkling skin. An image of beauty.

The rest was easy and very soon after that we were finally home and going to collect Renesmee and Jacob. Emmett was vastly entertained by our Russian adventure and very sorry to have missed it." Gay Pride, uh?" He said. "Maybe we should organize a Vamp Pride sometimes…" his booming laughter filled the house.

**Epilogue**

Edward 

We have two new vegetarian 'cousins' in our extended family now. Presently Angelo and Sasha are living in San Francisco, and they frequently come to visit us, or we them. When we organize hunting trips together, Angelo is delighted by the variety of big game that can be found in the US. He has repeatedly been offered a lot of money to start a modeling career, but he always refuses, because he doesn't want to have his photos on magazines. In any case he has the Volturi's 'pension fund' in Switzerland and Alice has offered him suggestions on how to make it grow with wise investments. They both are not particularly study oriented, so they are thinking of what to do together. They are experimenting with artistic cabinet making, and seem to be very good at it. Time will tell.

Chapter endnotes

. Well, only in the Twilight world becoming a vampire can be considered a happy end! I hope you liked this story and will send me a final review.

The riddle of the wolf, the goat and the cabbages, (or any other version of it) is probably known in other countries too, but if you don't know the solution, you can say it in a review or go to my profile and send me a message. I'll answer you.


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